Electric switch.



N0.754,svs. PATENTED MAR-8,1904.-

V N; MARSHALL.

ELEGTRIG SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

i 1;, /54 Q 4 14 Y next stop. The p with the catch-plate, andl prefer'to provide Patented March a. 1904.

NORMAN MARSHALL, OF-NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MARSHALL SANDERS A CORPORATION OF MAINE COMPANY, on, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

ELECTRIC SWITCH- SPEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 754,3'78, dated March 8, 1904.

i Applioation iilod J ano 27,

To all whom it may concern:

Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches, of which the following is a specification. The invention relates to that class of snapswitches inwhich the rotation of the-hub or spindle tensions a spring-for operating the contact or contacts and also 0 catc I The primary v object of l the?" gentigiig is t5 provide novel and i movediiievices mama-j on the small scalerequired,:-whichmayfbe readily and cheaply mafiiifactured and which asection on, line 7 7, Fig. 4;-and; 8 is. a

{" efficient an posi iya n operit s accomplished by' providingamcessi turns the arm acts cess to advance the 'catch until it"dis'engages the cooperating stop and" then as the catch rotates with relation, to the spindleEacts against the opposite side oflthe -recessyto retract the catch until the catch" engages the armlies in the same plane the recess with straight-paralleI-side's extending transverselyto themovement of the plate and to provide-a-circullar projecting arm whichformsa crank-pin fittingthis transverseslot. With this crank-and-slot connectionthe crank moves in V the direction of movement of the catch-plate. The rotation of the catch-plate as the catch disengages the stop will result in little during the first part of its rotary movement, and therefore little clearance is requiredon either the m eeth the c t h; Com -5.

. P ra s ith 1 which holds the contacts agams'tmoveine'nt until the spring'is te'iisioned andthe'p. releases the contacts, so that they areal-demented: by the spring; "the imoyement'ofq-the beinl'ig determined- ,by steps .'byl."-the v rearward movement of the catch-plate .'to confirieiltlie c'onnectionswithinhs limited'a I catch maybe made with little incline and will Be it known that 1, Norman MARSHALL, ,of

Newton, in the county of otherwise occur, The. construction is; inex pensive to, manufacture ,andpcupi'es' little space, thus enabling tl'ie p'arts to-be strgegly made on-;a"small scale, which. is an important feat'are; in tlgiese switches where it is desirablespace as isjpracticable 1 various features of the inventioli'will the-beStQmndflstood by referring to the .ac-

I -3--to6 are enlarged views v-st ruction and operation of -companying drawings, in which ,a' switch is ,shqwnembodying all such features.

- In the; drawings, Figured is elevation ofia snap-switch, the insulating-basebeing shown in section. Fig. 2 is a plan View. Figs.

showin'gf'the'- conthe connections be;

tween the catch plate and spindlerf. Fig. 7 is the spring 7 is 'tensioned ewof'a modified construction. I I. ,As shown in the drawings, the switch is proy'vfith'an insulating-base 1, to-whicli the stationary contacts and" binding-post 2 are sefi'urediand; which'alsofsupports the other parts 'oftheswitch, The movable contacts 3 are spindle by e'ngaging'a lug 8 carried thereby,

and the other end of the Spring isconnected with the 'switch 'plate 5 by engaging a pin 9 secured thereto. When the spindle 6 is turned,

.tion with the plate5 tends to turn said plate 'eafifitlyth 'teethof the stop ratchet and the about the spindle. The switch-plate 5 is held from rotation until the spring- 7 has been properly tensionedby means of a catch 10, formed ona catch-plate 11, which is guided between the depending edges 12 of the switch-plate 5.

and by its 'cotineb- The catchlO isiarranged to engage a series of teethl'13- on a ,ifi hich teeth from a series ofstops for cooperstop-plate securedin, the base' 'atingwith the catch. The stop=plate is provided .with a depending hub 14:, extending through the base 1 and engaged by a nut 15,

which holds the plate in position in the bafse.

The huh-'14also forms a supporting-hearing for the spindle 6. As the spindle 6 is turned the catch-plate 11 is advanced in its guides 12 to carry the catch forward along a tooth 13 until the catch disengages the tooth, when the spring 7 suddenly rotates the switch-plate, the movement of the ca h-plate with the switch-plate carrying t e catch into engagement with the next tooth 13, which determines the position of the catch-plate and the con nected switch-plate. The connections between the spindle 6 and the catch-plate 11, by which these movements of the catch-plate are pro-- duced, consist of a recess or. slot 16, formed in the catcl1plate, and an arm 17, projecting from the spindle through the open end .of the slot and playing in said slot. The sides 18 of the slot in the catch-plate which are engaged by thearm 17 are parallel to each other and arrangedtransverse] y to the movement of the catch-plate: in the guides 12. The arm 17, which extends into the slot 16, is in the same planewith the plate .11, and its end which engages the sides of the slot is in the form of a circlehaving adiame'ter the width of the slot and forms, therefore, a crank p'rojectingfrom the spindle in the plane of'jthe catch-plate and engaging a transverse slotin said plate. The slot 16 extends laterally from an opening or recess19, extending lengthwise of the plate 11,

so that the spindle 6, which extends up through the plate, may not'interfere with the movements-of the plate. "The arm 17 may be of the same thickness as'the catch-platen or of tional contact of the plate 5 with the catcha supported on opposite sides of the'spindler less thickness; but it is preferred to make.

this arm slightly thicker than the plate 11, so that the arm will form a supporting-bearing for-the switch-plate 5, and thus prevent fricplate 11. WVith the switch-plate thus Supported out of engagement with the catch-plate the catch-plate may be more easily operated and with less wearupon the parts. Instead of supporting the switch-plate on the arm 17 the plate Iriay'be supported ona flange 20, projecting from the spindle and arranged diametrieally opposite the arm 17. I prefer, however, to employ boththe flange and arm for this purpose, so that the plate 5 will be In case the spindle is provided with this supporting-flange the recess 19is so shaped that there is always clearance between the sides of the recess and the flange, so that theflange in no wise effects the movements of the catch-' plate produced by the cranlr-and-slot connecomitted, as indicated in Fig. 8.

tion between the spindle and plate. porting-flange 20 is not essential and may be the recess 19 need be of only such size as to at ford clearance between the sides of the opening and the spindle- 6-, which may be of adv in Fig. 5.

The .su p

In this form reams vantage in enabling a reduction in the side of the catch-plate.

The mode of operation willlbe best under- "stood by reference to. Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive.

Supposing the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 3 and the spindle 6 to be rotated, the catch 10 by its engagement with the tooth13 will prevent rotationot the contact-plate untilthe catch is moved into the position shown in Fig, {1. As the spindle-is turned the front side of the crank-arm 17 will act against the front side 18 of the slot 16 until the catchplate is advanced from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4:. When the catch-platereachesthis position, the catch -10 passesoii the end of the tooth 13, and the spring 7, which has been tensioned. by the rotation of the spindle, suddenly rotates the switch-plate and also the catc h-plate carried with it, the spindle remaining stationary. As

the. catch-plate and switch-plate are rotated about the spindle the rear side of'th'e arm 17 acts against the rear side 18 of the slot to move the catch-plate fromthe position of Fig. 4 to the position-of Fig. 6. Owing to the crank-and-slot connection between the spindle and catchplate, the first-part of the rotation of the catchplate will result in comparatively little rearward movementof the catch-plate, as indicated Consequently but little clearance need be formed on the catchand the tops of the teeth 13. The rearward movement of the catch-plate will continue as the plate rotates about the spindle until the catch 10 brings up against thenexttooth 13, as indicated in Fig.

6, when the rotation of the catch-plate, and consequently its. rearward. movement producedby the crank-and-slot connection, will be arrested. a y A WhatIclaim, and desire to secure by LettersPatent,,is. i

1. .In' an electric switch the combination with a spindle, contacts,and spring formoving the 'samefof a catch-plate provided with a.trans-' versereces's having an open end atone side of the spindle, an arm projectingifrom the spindle through the open' end of said recess, andstops engaged by said catchplate.

' 2. In an electric switch the combination with a" spindle, contacts, and spring-for moving the same, or a catch-plateprovided with a transverse recess having an open end at one side of .the spindle, an arm in the plane of the catchgreater thickness projecting from-the spindle and engaging the sides of said recess, a flange pro ecting from the spindle of the same thickness as the arm, and stops engaged by said,

catch-plate.

5. In an electric switch the combinationof the switch piate, a catch-plate sliding therein, a spindle, a spring connecting the spindle and switch-plate, a slot in the catch-plate extending transversely to its line of movement, and a crank on the spindle engaging said slot and arranged to move in the direction of movement of the catch-plate, and stops engaged by the catch-plate.

6. In an electric switch the combination of a sliding plate provided with a slot extending transversely to its line of movement and having an open end, a 'spindle, and a crank-arm in the plane'of the plate projecting from the spindle-through the open end of said slot.

7. In an electric switch the combination of a spindle provided with a projecting crankarm, a movable plate in the plane of said arm, an opening extending lengthwise of said plate through which said spindle passes, and a slot extending transversely from said opening and engaged by said crank-arm.

8. In an electric switch the combination of a stop-plate, a switch-plate, a catch-plate carried thereby recessed to permit the play of an arm, a spindle extending through the recess in said catch-plate provided with a flange for supporting the switch-plate out of contact with the catch-plate and with an opposite projecting arm playing in said recessed catch-plate, and a spring connecting said catch-plate and spindle.

In testimony whereof I have affixed m y signature in presence of two witnesses.

NORMAN MARSHALL.

\Vitnesscs: I v

E. M. CARPENTER, M. E. LYNCH. 

